Dive Brief:
- Wallace Foundation Director Jody Spiro writes for Education Week that it's vital for districts to set high standards when trying to select principals, detailing the results of a $85-million, five-year principal pipeline development program for six school districts nationwide that found districts investing in principals prior to and during their tenure gave them a better chance to succeed.
- An analysis by Policy Study Associates found all six districts succeeded in building competent pipelines at competitive costs, with some of the districts improving hiring practices with approaches that included role-playing discussions during interviews to discern how candidates would respond, and some boosting on-the-job support by having principals' supervisors focus on self-improvement in lieu of an emphasis on compliance.
- Districts also stressed pre-service support training and support for prospective principals, crafting new programs or building upon those already existing to help potential candidates learn about specific issues unique to the district — and they often struck partnerships with nearby colleges and universities to forge better principal prep programs.
Dive Insight:
RAND Corp Office of Research Quality Assurance Director Susan Gates has previously detailed how principal pipelines have been reviewed, stressing their affordability in contrast with concerns among district administrators regarding financial viability. While on-the-job training can be important, Glenn Pethel, the PPI project director for Gwinnett County, GA — one of the districts involved in the report — said it was equally important (and more cost-efficient) for districts to clearly express what they're seeking in new principals.
“If you don’t start with that solid foundation, that clarity, of knowing what you expect a leader to know, and to be able to do, and without a clear expectation of how you’re going to measure and monitor that performance...I don't know if you're able to have a stable structure without it,” he said.
Districts interested in pursuing principal pipelines can begin by building out affordable elements, including leadership development or selective hiring, though it's important to note that selective hiring practices could be dependent on the volume of potential candidates you have in a given district or region. Rural superintendents often stress the difficulty of finding educators or school leaders to enroll in their schools, because educators and principals will often gravitate toward urban areas where there is a higher quantity of potential open positions. Despite the investment, Gates said, the cost of principal pipeline programs could pale in comparison to the high cost of low principal retention rates in a school district.